Open AccessAnalysis of angular dispersion induced by wavefront rotation in nanosecond optical parametric chirped pulse amplification
Author(s) -
Yeong Gyu Kim,
Hwang Woon Lee,
Han Bum Im,
Ji In Kim,
Jae Hee Sung,
JunBo Yoon,
Seong Ku Lee,
Chang Hee Nam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.411059
Subject(s) - optics , wavefront , dispersion (optics) , physics , optical parametric amplifier , chirped pulse amplification , amplifier , laser , ultrashort pulse , tilt (camera) , pulse (music) , materials science , optical amplifier , optoelectronics , mechanical engineering , cmos , detector , engineering
Angular dispersion observed in a nanosecond optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (ns-OPCPA) amplifier adopted in the frontend of a multi-PW laser was analyzed. The theory on the angular dispersion, extended by including the wavefront rotation and the pulse front tilt of a strongly chirped laser pulse, revealed that the wavefront rotation is a major contributor to the angular dispersion, as compared to the pulse front tilt, in a ns-OPCPA amplifier. It was also shown that the wavefront rotation could be introduced by the phase mismatch and the noncollinear propagation angle in the noncollinear ns-OPCPA amplifier. The theoretical prediction was experimentally verified by measuring the angular dispersion of the ns-OPCPA frontend installed in the 20-fs, 4-PW Ti:Sapphire laser. We emphasize the importance of the proper characterization and control of the angular dispersion in the ns-OPCPA amplifier since the focus intensity of an ultrahigh power laser could be significantly reduced due to the spatiotemporal effect even for small induced angular dispersion.